Rufus P. Shelton

Mr. Rufus Shelton, 84, was born on May 5, 1935 in Greenville, Georgia to the union of Jim and Mary Shelton, who both preceded him in death. He was the sixth child of 13 children born to this union. Six of his siblings also preceded him in death; six children remain.

Mr. Rufus moved to Cincinnati in 1953 to join his brother, Jimmie Louis and sister-in-law, Susie Mae. He was a young man from the country, so Cincinnati was a big city to him.  Rufus was known by all his family and friends as “Mr. Rufus”. He was full of life, so meeting people in Cincinnati came easy to him. He met many people and developed some life-long friendships. That’s one thing about Mr. Rufus, he really loved people and helping them in whatever way he could. If you were his friend and needed Mr. Rufus’ help, he was always right there. He didn’t just say it, but he lived it. That love of people led him to Betty Jenkins, first his friend and then later in 1965, his wife. They enjoyed each other, entertaining friends and family, and visiting their relatives in the South. They truly enjoyed a long, loving relationship together. She remained true to him and by his side until the very end.

Mr. Rufus worked for Aramark Food Service at the Ford Motor Company in Sharonville, Ohio for 40 years until he retired. While working there, Rufus eventually became the “big boss” of that department. He ran that place. Nothing happened there that didn’t meet with Mr. Rufus’ approval first. As the eventual union representative, he really worked hard for fair wages and benefits for the people who worked for him. If it wasn’t fair, Mr. Rufus fought hard to get it changed. Rufus read his Bible often, and that led him to his special friend “DOC” who discussed and shared those scriptures with him. Doc and Rufus had many long discussions about life, people, and work. Doc was a good friend to the end and Rufus would call him often in the final days of his life.

Prior to his illness, he loved entertaining, watching sports, having people over and cooking out. He also loved his cars. As a boy, he would often walk up to the main drag and watch all the beautiful cars go by. So owning cars was a dream fulfilled. During his illness, he remained positive and encouraging to all. God saw fit to give his wife, children and grandchildren quality time with him and to witness his strength and faith, during the last days of his life.

Mr. Rufus leaves to cherish his memory: his loving wife, Betty; two daughters, Robin Shelton of Cincinnati, OH and Mary Shelton-Perkins (Gawaine) of Frankfort, IL; one son, Lamore Rico Askew of Cincinnati, OH; four sisters, Mrs. Josephine (the late Frank) Jackson of Cincinnati, OH, Mrs. Byrda (the late Clarence) Burton of Newnan, GA, Ms. Annette Shelton of Buffalo, NY and Mrs. Rosa (David) Jackson of LaGrange, GA; two brothers, Mr. Wilson (Mary) Shelton of Cincinnati, OH and Mr. Robert (Ernestine) Shelton of LaGrange, GA; five grandchildren, three great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild; sister-in-law, Mrs. Susie Shelton of Cincinnati; brothers-in-law, Mr. Bobby (Bunnie) Jenkins of Cincinnati, OH and Mr. J.R. Parks of Buffalo, NY; special friend, Carl (Doc) Rosser of Greenville, GA; and a host of other nieces, nephews, cousins, relatives and friends.

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